about us
Thipok’s Story
I grew up in the suburb of a small city in Southern Thailand called Trang. I am proud to say that I was simultaneously the best, the worst, the most obedient, and the most rebellious child of my parents (a pretty easy accomplishment since we are a tiny family of 3). I am, however, less proud to admit that I am a chronic hobbyist – I’ve picked up lots of hobbies and extracurricular activities over the years. Sadly, only a few of them stuck around.
When I was 15, I moved to Colorado as a high school exchange student. Completely unknown to me and my parents at the time, the Lord used this as a means for me to hear the gospel. There, for the first time, I trusted Jesus and followed him. Through faithful Christians, church, and campus ministries, my desires to serve Jesus grew into an aspiration for vocational ministry, which ultimately grew into a desire to serve in pastoral ministry back in my home country.
Sarah’s Story
Hi it’s me, Sarah. 🙂 So glad you’re here! I grew up in the lovely PNW state of Washington and (until now) have never lived anywhere else. I love the mountains, the rivers/waterfalls, the beaches, the forests, and of course, the Columbia River Gorge! Being out in this lovely creation (hiking, camping, walking, playing) is always the preferred activity (in addition to playing music, reading, and writing). Someday I hope to take up watercolor so I can capture a sliver of the beauty of the great outdoors.
I was raised in a believing home, in which my parents homeschooled all 10 of their children, and can truly say I do not remember a time when I did not know the Lord. It’s a privilege I don’t take lightly. Over the years the Lord has been faithful to teach me about himself: the very personal aspects of being in relationship with the Creator of the universe, and the delightful context in which we worship him and wait for his return together in the church. He is so good.
And so I look forward to his goodness as we begin this new journey of heading to Thailand to join a local church and help teach people about the personal and corporate love of our God! While I had not planned on overseas missions, I’ve always been willing to go, and so I am excited and expectant for how God will lead us in the years ahead!
The Saengthian’s Story
In 2023, on a bright sunny September day, when we both decided to spend our day in the most un-Portland fashion ever – attending our church’s conference on worship – Sarah decided to introduce herself to a church intern who was attempting to inconspicuously finish up a paper he had been procrastinating. We met briefly, and Thipok promptly forgot about this interaction (ask us about this later)
About a month later, we “met” again. This time Thipok did not forget. We decided to keep talking and getting to know each other, even though Thipok’s time in Portland was coming to a speedy end. Phone calls turned into video calls, and video calls turned into trips. “Getting to know each other” turned into a long-distance relationship. Seven trips were made between Portland and Louisville in 2024. Needless to say, we both were ready for the long-distance phase to end.
Thipok asked Sarah to marry him in November 2024. We got married on March 22, 2025, at Hinson Baptist Church, where we met.
We live in our little apartment near the Vancouver Waterfront. For our first year of marriage, Sarah continued teaching piano and violin while Thipok worked as a Pastoral Assistant at Hinson. The year was full of learning about each other, figuring out married life, serving our church, making new friends, exploring Washington and Oregon, and many more memories.
Nevertheless, while we thoroughly enjoyed our first year here and have made the most of our time in the PNW, our first year was marked by the question of the future plans. Even before meeting, Thipok was in contact with a recently-planted international church in Bangkok, to which the Lord slowly grew the desire to go as we were dating. After a few months of being married, with the counsel of our elders, family, and friends, we decided to pursue the opportunity of serving in Thailand.
And that brings us to today (well, the day we are publishing our blog). Thipok just finished his term as a pastoral assistant. Sarah is wrapping up her teaching year. We have been appointed by our church and our mission organization to start the process of fundraising and transitioning to serve in Thailand. You may wonder what we are up to and how different will our lives be. We, too, ask those questions very often!
And that’s (partly) why we decided to start this blog! We hope that this is one way in which we can stay up-to-date in each other’s lives, even as we are moving thousands of miles away. We hope that, as we prepare to be sent out for the sake of the gospel, many of you will come along side us as “gospel partners” – committing to pray for us or supporting us financially. This blog will hopefully give you an idea of what we are up to, what our lives look like, things we learn, and what we have been reflecting on. As you support and encourages us, we too, desire to do the same for you! Come with us as we journey toward where we belong!
A Couple Links You May Like…
Hinson Baptist Church (our sending church): https://www.hinsonchurch.org/
Bangkok City Baptist Church (where we’re headed!): https://www.bangkokcitybaptist.com/
Reaching & Teaching International Ministries (our missions organization): https://rtim.org/
Where We Belong 